Sioux Falls Ranks 4th in Fastest Growing American Economies

Those of us who make Sioux Falls our home know how fast we're growing and that our economy has been a bit insulated from national trends. Now the nation knows as USA Today has ranked Sioux Falls 4th on their list of fastest growing economies in America!

According to the article, the nation's economy grew at 1.9% in 2013 and is expected to grow by 2.7% in 2014.

97 economies actually shrank according to their Gross Metro Product (GMP) last year, while only seven are expected to shrink this year, so things are definitely starting to turn around finally.

Many of the fastest growing metro areas, also offered the biggest job growth. Based on the Conference of Mayors' most recent economic report, produced in conjunction with forecasting company IHS Global Insight (IHS), 24/7 Wall St. identified the metropolitan statistical areas with the largest growth and contraction in real gross metropolitan product during 2013.

Other cities cracking the top 10 were:

10) Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey

9) Columbus, Indiana

8) Cheyenne, Wyoming,

7) St. Joseph, Missouri

6) Bismarck, North Dakota

5) Fargo, North Dakota

4) Sioux Falls, South Dakota

3) Pascagoula, Mississippi

2) Odessa, Texas

1) Midland, Texas

For Sioux Falls, the city's GMP increased by 5.2%, our change in employment was 2.0% which was 65th best in the nation, our projected GMP change for 2014 is 3.9% which is 10th best and our unemployment rate of 3.1% is tied for 3rd lowest)

"While South Dakota has not benefited from the oil boom as North Dakota has, parts of the state still recorded robust growth last year. The economy of Sioux Falls, the state's largest city by population, grew by 5.2% last year, and it is projected to grow another 2.9% this year. One of Sioux Falls' strengths has been its financial sector. Citibank has a substantial presence there, as do several other banks. As of November, 11% of the metro area's jobs were in the finance sector. The city's population has been growing, and Sioux Falls set a city record for construction in 2013 at $588.2 million worth of building permits issued."

The forecast looks bright for Sioux Falls which is why more and more young people continue to flock to our city. It's exciting to think of the great things on the way in the next 5-10 years!